


putting things into practice

by izukillme



Series: girls like girls like boys do [14]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: (neither of them is complaining tho xP), Accidental Relationship, Canon Compliant, F/F, First Dates, First Kiss, accidental date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:42:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24440782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izukillme/pseuds/izukillme
Summary: Juvia attempts to reconcile with Lucy by asking her for relationship advice. When Lucy suggests they go on a practice date, though, things take a slight turn - but Juvia certainly isn't complaining at where they end up.
Relationships: Lucy Heartfilia/Juvia Lockser
Series: girls like girls like boys do [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1183571
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	putting things into practice

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [FTLGBTNet](lgbtfairytailnet.tumblr.com)!! Please support the blog and send us requests :3

Juvia took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to do. It went against everything she had felt so far… but that was what Fairy Tail was all about, right?

The thought calmed her, and reassuring herself once more that she was doing the right thing, the Water Mage walked steadily over to the table where Lucy Heartfilia and Lisanna Strauss sat laughing and joking. However, the conversation fizzled out as soon as Lucy caught sight of Juvia, a look of mild worry dampening the blonde’s features. It was natural, Juvia supposed, given the way she had treated the Celestial Spirit Mage who’d shown her nothing but kindness; yet it still left an aftertaste like curdled milk.

“Juvia!” Lucy said in a rather strained voice, putting on a smile. “Is this about Gray?”

“Lucy, that’s no way to greet her!” Lisanna chided, the look in her eyes knowing. She tilted her head up to meet Juvia’s, blue locking on blue, and smiled. “Hello, Juvia. I assume Lucy’s wrong?”

Juvia just nodded, her face colouring at both Lucy’s words and Lisanna’s. Lucy had every right to assume what she had, but the way Lisanna had stood up for her… it made her feel as if she _belonged_.

“See?” Lisanna turned back to Lucy, poking the blonde in the ribs with a reproving look. Lucy flinched and looked apologetically up at Juvia.

“Well!” The Strauss girl clapped her hands and smiled. “I’ll leave you two to it, then.” And she sauntered off, not looking back. Juvia decided to fill Lisanna’s spot after a moment of hesitation, sliding onto the bench besides Lucy.

“Juvia…” she began rather haltingly, unsure how to phrase herself. “Juvia…”

“Yeah?” Lucy looked concerned, reaching out a hand to place over Juvia’s comfortingly. Despite everything… Juvia’s heart warmed at how genuinely kind Lucy was.

“Juvia…” she started again, gathering some confidence. “… wanted to… start over. Juvia’s been despicable to you, especially about Gray-sama - Gray-san - but Juvia understands that it caused her to behave in a truly awful manner towards you. Juvia would like to… instead, start over… by asking for some relationship advice from you, and maybe even - being a friend to you like you have been to me!”

She bowed as she finished her little speech, not daring to look up for fear of being disappointed by Lucy’s expression. Perhaps she’d be angry? Insulted that Juvia would treat her like she had and then come apologising?

Then warm arms pulled her into a tight hug and Juvia felt her entire body relax into Lucy’s hug as the words were whispered into her ear, “Of course I accept your apology. I’ve always considered us friends!”

Juvia didn’t understand the fluttering in her chest at the last sentence, nor the sudden leaden weight in her stomach, but she couldn’t help smiling happily as she pulled away from Lucy.

Lucy put her hands on her hips, looking Juvia up and down with bright interest in her eyes. “All right, then, spill! What sort of relationship advice are you looking for? I’m assuming it’s about Gray?”

Juvia shook her head. “Not really. Just… general advice. Juvia knows that - that Gray-san is with Natsu-san… and has realised that she prefers women. She is afraid that she hurt Gray-san with her advances, and wants to be better about it.”

Lucy hummed. “That much is true,” she admitted bluntly. “You did make Gray a bit uncomfortable.”

“ _A bit_ is an understatement, Juvia would say,” Juvia whispered, face bright red.

Lucy laughed loudly, slapping Juvia on the back; she wheezed from the harsh contact. “It’s okay. Well… it isn’t, really, but don’t worry about it for now. You want my help in relationships, right? Especially with girls?”

Juvia nodded, still cherry-faced.

Lucy grinned. “Then you came to the right person - I’m decent enough and experienced enough at picking up girls. So… what sort of advice are you looking for?”

“Whatever Lucy-san knows!” Juvia said quickly. For some reason, she didn’t want this to be just one talk…

Lucy looked thoughtful. “That’ll take a while…” she hummed. “A few weeks? You’ll need hands-on advice, after all…”

Juvia’s heart leapt at the prospect of more time with Lucy. “That sounds perfect,” she said eagerly. “When can we start?”

“How about next Monday?” Lucy suggested brightly, unfazed by Juvia’s strange enthusiasm. “I don’t have any Jobs then. We can go shopping for some cute clothes and talk relationships.”

“Great,” Juvia replied happily, barely noticing the way Lucy stared after her as she went to take a Job, or the soft sigh that left the Celestial Spirit Mage’s lips.

* * *

Monday couldn’t come fast enough. Juvia spent the rest of the week in a blissful haze, so excited for the date she’d planned with Lucy. She was going to have a full day with the beautiful Celestial Spirit Mage all to herself! It would be so much fun.

It never crossed her mind that she was more eager to spend time with Lucy than for the advice she had sought earlier - or that she’d called it a date at all.

After an hour agonising over what to wear, Juvia finally stepped out of her house dressed in a smart blue shirt and dark pants. Biting down on her lip - she’d forgone makeup, deeming it too unnecessary for a simple outing - she made her way to her destination, patting her hair to make sure it was in place and hoping she wasn’t late. As she rounded the corner to the spot they’d agreed to meet, a pretty blonde in overalls came into view, the sight tugging her lips up into a smile.

“Lucy-san!” Juvia called, checking the time and sighing in relief as she saw it was just past the time they’d agreed to meet. Lucy whirled, smiling brightly when she spotted Juvia - a little burst of sunshine exploded in Juvia’s chest at the action, and a skip found its way into her step as she walked towards Lucy.

“Juvia!” Lucy exclaimed, drawing Juvia into a quick hug. She released her, holding her by the shoulders and eyeing her outfit with an appraising look.

“You’ve got style. Casual, yet just formal enough for first dates.” she said with a grin. “I won’t need to do too much work here.”

Juvia’s cheeks reddened, her mind caught on just one word. “D - date?” she stuttered.

Lucy smiled. “We’ll make this a practice date!” she explained cheerfully. “A dry run of sorts. And it’ll be fun, too! I haven’t been out with a friend in ages.”

 _Practice date…_ why did the words leave a hole in Juvia’s chest? She ignored it and followed after Lucy, who was already skipping down the street to her favorite shops. It had been so long since she’d just let loose and had fun. All this war and fighting had taken its own toll on Juvia’s worldview - it was nice to have a sheltered, fun outing to clothing stores and restaurants for once.

A few hours later, and Juvia’s feet hurt from all the walking, despite the fact that she had chosen to wear flats instead of Lucy’s more impractical heels. They had flitted from shop to shop and bore bags full of clothes and shoes, Lucy explaining what was best to wear on a date and how best to make your move. Juvia was exhausted; yet Lucy was still lively and full of energy, dancing around like a true Fairy.

“Where to next?” she questioned, the late afternoon sunlight hitting her brown eyes. Juvia swallowed, feeling as if she were drowning in the depths of Lucy’s irises. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

Luckily, her stomach rumbled just on cue. Juvia flushed with embarrassment, but mentally thanked it for providing a response and distracting Lucy from the fact that she had been staring into her eyes.

“Ah, you’re hungry!” Lucy winked. “We haven’t eaten yet, have we?”

Juvia shook her head mutely.

Lucy smiled. “I know a great ice-cream place - let’s go! Ice-cream is always romantic for dates!”

“Ice-cream…? For lunch?” Juvia wondered, but Lucy was already dragging her down the street, and her arm would pop out of her socket if she stayed still any longer. So she followed behind the Celestial Spirit Mage, who was practically running, and pretended to herself that she wasn’t silently appreciating the attractive curve of Lucy’s hips.

The ice-cream shop was brightly lit and small, and as the girls stepped in it was as if they had been transported to another world. It was soft, homely and traditional; nothing like the bustling world just outside the rustic wooden door. The comforting smell of vanilla hit Juvia’s nostrils, and she felt almost in a dream as they headed to the counter.

“One butterscotch,” Lucy ordered with a friendly smile - clearly she was a regular, if the kindly look the counter-woman gave her was any indication - “and what would you like, Juvia?”

“Oh!” Juvia stuttered, startled out of her comfortable daze. She flushed and began to peruse the choices. “Well… the… the chocolate cinnamon… seems nice…”

“One of those, too!” Lucy added, giving Juvia a sunny smile. The counter-woman nodded and scooped the ice-cream, handing each to the respective girl - Juvia fumbled for her wallet, but Lucy waved a hand, saying, “My tab! Watch and learn, Juvia: this is how you treat a woman!”

Dear God, it was almost as if they were on a real date!

Juvia could do nothing but weakly protest, yet Lucy coolly rode over her feeble dissent and paid for the food. Once she was done, she grabbed Juvia’s wrist and led her to a table in the corner, next to the window where they could see the cobbled street outside.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked. Juvia nodded.

“Yes. It’s so… _warm_.”

They both knew what she meant. Lucy smiled at her, and that smile was just as warm (if not warmer) than the entire cafe. Fireworks went off in Juvia’s mind, and all she could think was _Lucy’s smile, Lucy’s lips, Lucy’s laugh, Lucy’s eyes. Lucy, Lucy, Lucy._

Her cheeks heated, and to distract herself from her thoughts she took a tentative lick of her dessert-lunch. The ice-cream was delicious - enough to throw Juvia into an entire new utopia.

“This is amazing!” she exclaimed, kitten licks turning into hungry bites. For once, she didn’t care that she was making a mess; it was just too good for her to bother.

Lucy watched her with a wistful smile. Juvia, lost in her food-topia, didn’t notice.

Once they were both done (and once Juvia had cleaned herself up) Lucy set her hands on the table, covering Juvia’s own. Her finger brushed Juvia’s knuckles in what was almost a tender caress but not quite - something in Juvia thrilled at the touch.

“I…” Lucy began slowly. Juvia met her eyes, trepidation welling in her chest. “I… Juvia, correct me if I’m wrong, but…”

“But?” Juvia prompted, heart fluttering.

“Do you want this…” Lucy swallowed, colouring. “To be more than… just a practice date?”

Juvia inhaled sharply, shock filling her like ice water.

_Do I want this to be more than a practice date?_

The question evoked feelings in her that she had been ignoring from the start. The thoughts that Lucy was simply stunning, the excitement to spend time with her rather than get relationship advice, how she had noticed the elegant sway of Lucy’s hips and felt like she would explode whenever the other girl smiled at her… all of it…

Oh, _hell_ , she _liked_ Lucy. She liked Lucy _a lot._

And in that instant, she knew her answer. Juvia didn’t think as it tumbled out of her lips - she was done deliberating every decision she made. She was a member of Fairy Tail now: and Fairies always plunged into things headfirst.

“Yes.”

Lucy looked at her for a long moment. Juvia felt afraid; what if she’d moved too fast? What if she’d freaked Lucy out? What if -

Then Lucy was leaning forward, her breath hot and sweet against Juvia’s nose, and she was whispering, “So can we make this a real date and seal it with a kiss?”

Juvia’s breathing grew erratic; it was all she could do to nod enthusiastically. Then soft lips, sweetened by ice-cream, covered her own, and Juvia lost herself in the endless sky that was Lucy Heartfilia. They could have kissed for five seconds or five hours; time didn’t exist between them, not to Juvia at any rate. It felt like forever and yet nothing at all.

When Lucy pulled away, she was red in the face. “I…” she started to stutter. “I…”

Juvia was the one to grin this time. “Does Lucy-san want to be Juvia’s girlfriend?” she offered boldly, a sudden bravery filling her.

Lucy grew redder, and it was her turn to nod mutely. Juvia smiled brightly and took Lucy’s hand in hers, dropping a kiss on it as the blonde had instructed her not hours ago. She didn’t think she would get to test out Lucy’s relationship advice so soon.

But never let it be said that she wasn’t absolutely ecstatic for it.


End file.
